


One and a Half Benreys

by LordTraco



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half-Life
Genre: Benrey got split in half, Blood, Blood and Injury, Canon Divergence, Eye Horror, Gen, HLVRAI, More tags to be added, Swearing, The Science Team
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28206951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordTraco/pseuds/LordTraco
Summary: "This isn't right…" Benrey was muttering to himself on loop ever since they'd entered the portal to Xen together. It was frankly freaking Gordon out."Dammit man we're on an alien planet with potential to just fall forever if you jump just a bit wrong! Of course this isn't right!" Gordon yelled, moving his hands frantically in emphasis. "Now please shut the fuck up so I can jump and NOT DIE!"
Comments: 15
Kudos: 47





	1. Lost Passports

"This isn't right…" Benrey was muttering to himself on loop ever since they'd entered the portal to Xen together. It was frankly freaking Gordon out.

"Dammit man we're on an alien planet with potential to just fall forever if you jump just a bit wrong! Of course this isn't  _ right _ !" Gordon yelled, moving his hands frantically in emphasis. "Now  _ please _ shut the fuck up so I can jump and  _ NOT DIE _ !"

Benrey looked at him a moment before turning away with a soft "no predetermined deaths."

The group, minus the mysteriously missing Bubby, continued on for a while that way, being extremely careful on how they were jumping. Or, well, at least Gordon was. The others apparently had no fear of endless heights or alien planets. That was fine.

When they reached Bubby (and determinedly did not think about the car thing), Benrey only got worse. Out of the corner of his eye, Gordon could see him looking around skittishly, body language a little off as if he wanted to cower from something or brace for impact.

"Ok dude what the fuck is up with you."

"Nothin', I'm a great cool." Benrey let out some Sweet Voice for emphasis, knowing Pear would be mistaken for green.

_ Pear to Blue, I'm scared for you. _

"Green to blue means it's nice to meet you." Tommy translated helpfully.

"Yeah, pretty colors, sure. Hey, you wanna actually say what's got you spooked or are you gonna keep being an ass?"

"Gordon, I do believe Benrey is scared." Gordon looked back to Dr. Coomer in gratitude for agreeing with him and for being cognizant of the conversation. Coomer had a tendency to state the obvious, but that meant Benrey couldn't deny the obvious!

"Are you scared of heights?" Tommy asked, "Imagine you're a squirrel hopping between tree branches."

"Wimp" was all Bubby said, just looking irritated to be stopped. Ever the impatient one.

Benrey didn't look pleased with all the attention, but Gordon wasn't about to start feeling merciful. Not after the car prank, the betrayal that led to his arm-loss, and the countless other genuine annoyances. He was hiding something.

"Last time you hid something from me, I walked into an ambush that cost me my arm." Gordon locked Benrey with a cold glare, pointing his arm cannon at him. "Now you're going to tell me what's going on."

Benrey looked between the gun and Gordon's killer stare. For a moment he looked serious, almost hurt. As always, though, it only took a single blink for him to return to his default of Smug Asshole.

"Might get an even cooler gun this ti-"

Gordon shot him. "Fuck y-"

Gordon was cut off by the sudden painful scream Benrey let out at being shot in the thigh. He'd shot the man countless times, hell he'd heard the man let out a less convincing "AAA" when taking a LASER to the FACE. Helmet or not that had to have hurt.

But this? This was Benrey doubling over in pain and spitting out broken tones of sweet voice that came out in a litany of colors that burst quickly.

"Bubbles like fireworks, this really hurts," Tommy said, rushing over to Benrey's side. "Benrey, teal green. C'mon. I know it hurts but you need heal beam."

Gordon just stood there in shock. Benrey was crying. The tears weren't, well, the right color to be tears, but the sniffles between sounds of pain told him the nature of it. He couldn't believe now of all times he was able to hurt Benrey. 

A small part of him filled with hatred and desire for revenge had him wanting to do more, see if it was now possible to kill him. He wasn't sure how the team would take it, and that's the only reason he put his gun arm down.

"I won't say sorry, man, but fix yourself up, ok?" Gordon said, careful not to let any pity or sympathy show in his voice. He hated Benrey. But he was useful to the team.

"Huuuurttttts" Benrey gritted out, still not making any useful colors. He then looked like he was whispering something only Tommy was close enough to hear.

"Oh for fucks sake here!" Bubby marched up to Benrey, not hesitating for a moment before pressing a hand that was on fire directly into Benrey's wound. He cauterized it as the man screeched in agony.

Benrey's screams got louder and higher pitched until Gordon's ears were ringing, and then it stopped. Benrey passed out.

"Cauterizing the wound prevents bleeding out!" Coomer said, seemingly unfazed by the ruckus. "Very smart, Bubby!"

Gordon huffed in relief, he was definitely not a fan of loud noises like that. The ringing in his ears had only just faded from the battle with the helicopter monstrosity, but was of course back again.

Instead of picking him up to continue travelling, Tommy dug in Benrey's pockets. The team watched curiously as he went pale.

"Guys he. He doesn't have his passport."

"Oh for fuck's sa-"

"Gordon, I don't have mine either." Dr. Coomer interrupted, sounding genuinely upset about it.

Turns out none of them did, which unsettled Gordon slightly, but it wasn't that big a deal.

"Well we'll all have to get new ones when we get home." Gordon said with a sigh. "Which will be soon. Because we're going home." He went to Benrey, hoisting the unconscious man over his shoulder. He wasn't about to start dual wielding guns at this point and his arm canon was ok with one hand, so he figured he was the best one to carry him.

"Now do be careful, he doesn't have hi-Hello Gordon!" Dr. Coomer went back to his usual line the second Gordon looked at him. Darn, and he seemed to have had something useful to say.

"Hey Dr. Coomer." Gordon replied instinctively.

"Are we done being touchy feely over there or can we go home?" Bubby asked.

"Home." Gordon huffed, getting his balance steady. He might have been used to carrying around a toddler and slightly overestimated his own strength because of that. Benrey was a lot more than a toddler. He wasn't about to be running like this, but he could walk at least.

The Science Team walked in silence, taking care of aliens and eventually reaching a cave. 

Benrey made some kind of strained noise from his shoulder and pushed away without even opening his eyes. Gordon had to scramble not to drop him. "Welcome back to the land of the living." Gordon snarked, setting him down on a convenient rock.

"I didn't die this time, bro." He said softly, looking farther into the cave with a look of terror. "Not here."

"You gonna keep being cryptic about this, man? What trap are we walking into?"

Benrey didn't react, instead opting to spew some teal Sweet Voice at his wound. Gordon couldn't help but watch in fascination. The bloodied and burnt flesh healed to the point it looked normal, although his pants still had a very obvious burn hole halfway up from his knee.

"Thank you Bubby." He mumbled, which threw Gordon for a loop. He wasn't sure Benrey had ever once used anyone but his and Tommy's names. Let alone thanking someone!

"Don't mention it. You looked like shit."

Gordon saw Benrey return to that god-awful smirk and was once again reminded of the scene just before losing his arm. Where Bubby and Benrey had agreed on something for once. After exchanging whispers for who knows how long beforehand. He hated it, hated how his hand shook in phantom pain.

Those two were joking around in front of an entrance that one or both could know is a trap. Gordon itched to use his gun. To let off some of this irritation.

"Touching." Gordon levelled his gun at Benrey's head. "Think you can cauterize it if I blast his brain out in a second if he doesn't fucking tell us what's going on?" 

"Gordon no he's our fri-" Tommy cut himself off when Gordon glared at him.

Benrey stayed still, glancing between Gordon and the cave.

"I don't. Have my passport. I'm not supposed to be here." Benrey looked ready to leave it at that when the gun was put directly on his forehead. The cool metal was less a threat now and more of a promise. "...whatever does have my passport is a big threat. Think it's in there."

Gordon relented, putting the gun down. "The fuck is your deal with passports, man? Am I missing something here?"

"A passport is a travel document, usually issued by a country's government to its citizens, that certifies the identity and nationality of its holder primarily for the purpose of international travel." Dr. Coomer rambled on from memory.

"Yeah, bro. Passports are important."

Gordon threw his arms up. "That doesn't! Explain! ANYTHING!!!"

"Maybe if you had yours you'd know."

"Tommy, you'll forgive me if I shot him, right? I don't think I care what the others think, but we could still be pals, right?"

"Mister Freeman, friends don't shoot each other!"

"We are not friends, me and Benrey. We are not." Gordon turned to look at Tommy for a moment, wanting to clarify. "You and I? Sure, buds. But him? No."

"No, he's as important as a roux in custard!"

"I. Don't. Tommy I don't know enough about cooking to say if that's even accurate but-"

"He's part of the science team, Mister Freeman!"

"Alright, alright." Gordon sighed, throwing his hands in the air. "But this time he's going into the obvious ambush trap first."

"I told you, I'm not supposed to be here." Benrey said in a defeated tone that Gordon had a hard time attributing to him. "We should go back."

"There is no. Fucking. Back. Now GO!"

"Cringe, man. I'm not the party leader."

"Oh right, I named Tommy the leade-" Gordon cut himself short as Benrey stood up suddenly, more of those dumb green and blue bubbles.

"I'll go first." Benrey said, making his way inside.

…

  
  


At first the cave was normal. Just some textured stone you'd see anywhere, but red. Further in, that wasn't the case, Benrey knew, so he took a moment to appreciate the solid texture against his palm.

There was no safe way to do this. Whatever had their passports knew they were here and was patiently waiting. That would be enough of a reason to stay away if a certain man in a HEV suit with a potion-made gun wasn't forcing him to approach danger. His very life force screamed to get away, but he really didn't want to die.

Deeper and deeper they crept, a singular easy slope downwards as if designed to entice them in. It felt wrong.

As they went, the walls began to have more give to them, breathing and dripping with an organic life of their own. If his teammates noticed, they gave no indication, too focused on watching for an ambush.

Something told Benrey that if there were an ambush, nothing they did to prepare would count for anything.

When they reached an area what made wet noises with every step, Benrey had an urge to run so strong that he turned to flee. 

He was stopped. Not by Gordon or his team, no. By Sweet Voice bubbles that ensnared him.

"No!"

" **Oh. You brought him along.** " A deep and familiar voice said as a huge version of himself rose from the depths of the cave's huge and shallow pool. " **I don't need a mirror.** " With that, Benrey was tossed headlong into a wall.

The pain was indescribable and immediate. His back was littered in bruises that would have been deadly wounds were it not for his vest and helmet. His arms and legs were another story. Whether from the initial impact or the proceeding fall, his bones decided to go from single player to local multiplayer without his permission.

And so he came to rest on the floor, all his luck spent on having the perfect head angle to see the others. He wasn't about to be moving anytime soon, so while he would have wanted to allocate his luck boost to a miraculous med kit, he was at least glad it gave him a good view of the climactic battle to come.

..

"Benrey?" Gordon looked at the assailant as Benrey was tossed aside like he was nothing. From far away, one could assume it was the same security guard, just inexplicably a story or two tall. On closer inspection, the gruesomeness became apparent. 

The towering humanoid was floating off the ground, exposing a mess of half-congealed blood running diagonally from just under the rib cage on his right straight to his left shoulder, under which there was… nothing. Just dripping blood. His left arm looked normal from the top, but upon exposing the palm, it was a similar state as the bottom. It showed bone through bloodied, shredded skin.

Gordon couldn't take his mind off of the nightmare before him. He'd only spent what? One night feeling guilty about not helping Benrey get out of the doorway? Then he met a skeleton with his voice and soon after Benrey was just back. There had been no reason to let the visual of a man cut in half haunt him when there was so much else going on.

His nightmare smiled. " **So you remember how you left me to die, bro?** " The giant Benrey closed his eyes and opened new ones. The blood that had been dripping downwards flew up, forming patterned squares reminiscent of dragonfly wings but with almost zebra-like stripes through them. And from each of those streams of flowing blood forming six "wings" opened eyes as tall as Gordon himself. Eyes with coloboma, the black irises literally dripping droplets down to the floor.

Gordon took a step back, trying desperately to keep his breathing in line. Those eyes. Those eyes so fucked up and crying. That blood and exposed bone. The story it told of dragging itself for how far? For how long?

When Dr. Coomer spoke, Gordon could have kissed the guy he was so relieved.

"Gordon those look like scorpionfly wings. Nature sure is beautiful." It was pretty par for the course for Dr. Coomer to just focus on a useless tidbit like that, but this time it had Gordon laughing.

"Mister Freeman, this is serious. He looks hurt!"

Gordon expected Tommy to be looking or talking about the giant monstrosity and was surprised to see him starting towards the normal-sized non-winged Benrey. 

" **You left me to die. I held the door like a gentlegamer and you let me get cut in half.** " A large hand slammed down in front of Tommy, stopping him from getting any closer to Normal Benrey. " **Ignore my respawn, Tommy, I'm the one with the passport.** "

"No, you Stole-" Tommy started, accusingly.

" **_I DIDN'T STEAL,_ ** " the cave shook with his loud response as all of their eyes went to Tommy. " **The passports were needed for inspection.** "

A wheeze from the other side of the room could barely be counted as a laugh, but Gordon had heard it often enough to recognize it. 

"Goddamn… player 2 over there… using passports to swap… controllers." Benrey called out, sounding like he was trying to help for once. Not that it really made much sense to the team. N00bz.


	2. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some questions are answered and the fight begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to StellarOwl for the idea of more passports making one harder to kill! I hadn't fleshed out the passport workings much until that comment so thank you so very much!!
> 
> I hope to make future chapters longer, but I didn't want to make all of you wait very long!

The large monster loomed, just dripping pitter patters of blood and tears into the pool they stood in. The impression that all of this red liquid was from that one suffering non-human was hard to ignore, even if it was obviously mostly water.

The large Benrey's eyes shifted, focusing on a new target as its wings gave the impression of crying harder. " **You. Whatever happened to never forgetting** **_Bipple_ ** **?** " There was an edge to the name, anger mixed with a twinge of hurt. They did get his name wrong a lot at first...

"Hello-" Dr. Coomer said, pausing after the word as if stuck on how to proceed. There was a stutter to his movements as well, like he couldn't decide whether to take a normal or fighting stance.

Sliding smoothly over Gordon as if he wasn't there, the freaky eyes landed on Bubby. The impression of tears stopped abruptly and there was a sense of static in the air that wasn't quite electric in nature. There was a feeling of wrongness, of a tensed, heightened  _ something _ .

It was the wariness just before touching a doorknob on a cold and dry morning. It was the hesitance just before standing on a foot that had lost circulation and was starting the pins and needles. It was the dead certainty that  _ this will hurt _ .

Bubby, for all his usual bravado, stayed quiet. He looked defiant, but Gordon knew that the strange feeling was likely holding him back from a witty remark.

"I'm sorry Bubby." There was a sincerity to his words as they refrained from booming along the walls. It took them all by surprise that the large creature before them was… apologizing? 

"JUMP!!!" came a screech from the far wall, a wail of agony mixed in with desperation that was just in time to warm Bubby to dodge left of the sudden orb of destruction that nearly hit him and instead burned its way clean through the wall behind him.

" **Sorry I didn't 'rest in pieces'. Care to show me how it's done?** " There was no more use in talking as the large enemy before them began to sing. Gordon leveled his arm cannon and began firing, inspiring the others to do the same.

Gordon made a bee-line forward with Dr. Coomer to get closer shots, while Bubby hung back to draw some of the brunt of the fire with more time to dodge. Gordon caught sight of Tommy circling around to get to Benrey. Their Benrey.

Gordon shook away the strangeness of the thought. He hated Benrey, wanted him out of his life, and didn't trust him for a hill of beans. But that was Benrey, their Benrey. This… grotesque horror wasn't Benrey. Their enemy was simply a monster, a final alien to defeat on their way home.

But this monster didn't seem to be taking any damage at all. Attacks to the wings reformed immediately, and the bullets bounced off his body like they were nothing.

"How the fuck are you even alive??" Gordon yelled in frustration, freeing Dr. Coomer from a third bunch of sweet voice circles (they were as enticing as "ropes", he swore). 

There seemed to be significantly less malice when the monster's attention was on him for some reason. He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth though.

" **Teleported back to the bathroom, bro. Grabbed your passport.** "

"That explains the toilets…" Gordon grumbled, remembering the random toilets that replaced his body quickly after the door fiasco. There were certain things he never expected an answer to, and that was one of them. And on the other hand there were things he expected to know by now, namely what the fuck was up with passports.

Gordon mused a moment before continuing, "You know, the other you won't explain what the deal is with passports. Probably doesn't even know himself what they do!"

The lipsmack that came in response was so irritatingly familiar that Gordon wasn't immediately sure whether it came from the monster or Benrey. " **Little chicken hat forgot what passports do? Forgot they make you more immortal the more you have?** " 

More immortal. Gordon let his gun arm fall to the side. The others had survived drops and blasts and countless other things that should have been lethal. Was all that really thanks to their passports?

Also Benrey had avoided killing those who had passports. Including military men who on average were a bit tougher to kill than usual humans…

Gordon felt himself falling and saw one of the death orbs pass the tip of his nose before registering that Dr. Coomer had yanked him downward to avoid it. "Hello Gordon! You need to be careful!"

"Thanks Dr. Coomer." He blinked, looking up at their enemy. The monster seemed focused on Bubby, but the lowermost wing eye that cried profusely seemed to continue watching them. The yellow death orb was bouncing around randomly. It didn't seem like he'd been the intended target, which gave him some time to think. "What do we do?"

"I believe our Benrey had a point. Bipple here has all of our-Gordon help!"

" **Stop it!** " The room shook as Dr. Coomer gained the monster's full attention. " **You know my name!** " A couple skeletons rose out of the red and began encasing him in blue bubbles.

Gordon levelled his gun at the skeletons but looked up to see Benrey holding out the giant, familiar passport. The last name trailed off like some optical illusion he didn't care to question.

**"Benrey! Get it right!!** "

In a spark of understanding, he raised his gun at the passport instead. "SHOOT IT!" 

Three distinctly different gunshots rang out a chorus to blast hole after hole in the paper. He dared follow some of the blasts to Tommy, who held Benrey's head in his lap, one hand over his upturned ear to save him from the sound of the relentless shots exploding out of a gun that really shouldn't be able to shoot that fast or that many. 

It might have just been the blasts of the gun reflecting, but Tommy's eyes almost looked like they were glowing. What drew the eye more were the glistening colors of a teal green cloud of color encasing Benrey and originating from the very large and perfect dog. 

Sunkist was here. For some reason that made Gordon feel better about all this.

" **Stop that! I don't wanna be bad! You're making me bad!!!** " Gordon saw him drop the passport now ridden with holes, and for once the horror before him looked and sounded hurt physically.

He quickly took out the skeletons by Dr. Coomer and got him free, noticing a faint glowing black and green portal behind him whilst doing so. It had been hidden from view by a large bunch of rocks.

He looked back. The wings of blood were drooped, creepy eyes no longer there. It was just Benrey's face, looking to him with the same expressionless gaze. " **You were the only one who tried to save me. We were friends. Remember?"**

Gordon met his gaze. It almost looked pleading. In his scrambled recollection of the events in this shitshow, he honestly couldn't remember a time he'd found this guy to be anything but an irritation. Not a friend. Even if this wasn't the one who betrayed him, they were never friends.

"We were never friends! You're trying to hurt my friends!!" He began firing, breaking into a run towards the portal when Ben- when the monster fired back.

**Author's Note:**

> And on your left you can see a fanfic author having a lot of fun designing a gruesome half-dead monster with small insect nods to the username of the one who voiced the character. Had they been an artist, they'd just draw said monster and be done with it, but alas we have this. You have as much of a guess as to where this is going as anyone else!
> 
> This is one of five fics I am willing to commit to updating every other Monday. If you'd like this one to have a consistent updating schedule, feel free to vote for it on my Tumblr.  
> https://lordtraco.tumblr.com/post/639128464723787776/new-years-resolution-finish-a-hlvrai-fanfic


End file.
